Moderated by Russell Meyers, CEO of Midland Memorial Hospital, the event served as a think tank for leaders from different faiths, and allowed those in attendance to get a different perspective on a diverse range of issues including the Supreme Court’s recent ruling on same-sex marriage.

Participants included Imam Wazir Ali from Masjid Warithud-deen Mohammed in Houston, Acharya Arumuganathaswami from Kauai’s Hindu Monastery in Hawaii, the Rev. Kathryn Boren from St. Luke’s United Methodist Church, Msgr. Larry Droll from St. Ann’s Catholic Church and the Rev. Randel Everett from 21st Century Wilberforce Initiative in Virginia.

Questions were provided in advance and were penned by the panelists themselves and the moderator.

From Thursday's events, these were some of the more notable remarks by the panel.

Regarding religious persecution

Ali: This comes from a lack of education, and it comes from a lack respect for the freedom that every individual has. So one thing I think we can do is work within our own faith traditions to increase the level of knowledge, of understanding that’s preached in our own religions.

The second thing we can do is this, these interfaith dialogue programs, where we have an opportunity to share our beliefs with one another so we can develop a genuine respect for our differences and work together as religious leaders in America to fight religious oppression everywhere we see it around the earth.

Acharya: Despite the proliferation of bad news flooding our screens, I would not agree that today’s religious persecution is unprecedented. Globally it has been far worse in the past. We need to take time to get to know and understand each other, as mutual respect is developed religious freedom should flow naturally and persecution will diminish.

On homosexuality and same-sex marriage

Boren: At some point, they made the change from not accepting females as clergy to welcoming us into leadership in the church, so I’ve benefited from that. At times, that was contentious and other times, grace filled. So we will continue to have that conversation to try to figure out what it means to be the church and how is it that we will bless marriages. How will we do that? Whose love will we acknowledge? I’m not sure how we will end up this year or in 20 years, or even 100.

For myself personally, if I choose to err, I choose to err on the side of love − on the side of grace.

Faith and health

Everett: Two of my heroes in life are nurses and school teachers. There the ones that deserve the best pay and the best accolades because of what they do. I believe that we should pray, realizing that God is the great physician, but at the same time we should try to receive the best medical care as possible and they should go hand in hand.

Droll: There are many Catholic hospitals, Catholic nursing homes, medical schools and healing ministries. We see all of the hospitals and all of the educational institutions as an extension of care for the sick.

On evil in today’s world

Droll: We are influenced and tempted to sin by the world, or society around us and the way thing are. Think these days of pornography, for example, those things may tempt us to wrongdoing.

Acharya: There is no force or personification of evil which opposes the goodness of God. We don’t, therefore, accept the premise of the question: that evil exists per se. The better way to ask this of a Hindu is: what to you is the source that seems evil? We believe that the soul is created by God and matures over many, many lifetimes of existence. At first the soul is young and is prone to make mistake and make karma, some good and some bad. All of which will return to it. When we see a person acting in a cruel or horrific way, we are seeing a young soul who will evolve over many lives out of cruelty and into compassion.

On ex-prisoners and convicts

Everett: I felt like churches were very quick to be engaged with prisoners while they were in prison, but when they got out it was a totally different story. They didn’t want them moving in our neighborhood, we didn’t want them in our church buildings, and so that’s where the biggest job is. Many of them are children when they go in whichmakes thing difficult years later.

On talking to people with no religious relationship

Ali: It’s not so much about trying to get them involved in our faith traditions, but calling them to be the best human’s they can possibly be. Indicating that if they embrace the best of their human nature, the best of their human disposition. Regardless of what faith they claim or if they claim not to have faith, they will be as effective as those of us who have faith traditions that we’re working from.

Boren: We need more attractive Christians, not because of how they look, but because of the life they live. That’s what drew me to the faith. It was seeing a person whose passion for life was such that I wanted that in my own. A person who had such a sense of calm in life, that I wanted that sort of peace. From the outside it may look like we’ve reduced God to a list of rules.